Gloria never disappoints. I enjoy going to see her because I enjoy the feeling I always have when I leave. Sister Gloria of the Brahma Kumaris is my meditation instructor, and friend. Over the weekend, I was blessed with one on one time to sit and talk with her.
Dressed in her white robes, Gloria greeted me with a bright smile. She always has a glow about her. It's calming and uplifting at the same time. It's also contagious.
Music began playing from another room, just as we sat down to talk. Perfect timing, she said. Gloria sets music to come on every few hours to remind her to stop what she's doing and sit in meditation for the length of the song. I put my things aside and joined her. With eyes open, as the Brahma Kumaris meditate, I focused my very favorite picture. Already, I was feeling at peace.
What, I asked her, is missing most in the world today?
Understanding the Self, she told me. We need more education about who we really are. We live in a world of labels - mother, brother, sales person, etc. But these are artificial. These are not the real Self. It is a big undertaking to understand the Self. We need to peel back the layers to get to the fruit.
Then what is the real self?
What you see is a package. YOU are not at all the package. The inner you is that gentle, unlimited, un-perishable, intangible, spiritual being. A jewel of light.
When you are driving a car, do you ever believe you are the car? No! We are the DRIVER. That is the Soul, the Self. We are the driver of this vehicle the body.
To understand the Self better, Gloria further told me about the 3 Faculties of the Soul. The Mind, the Intellect, and the Sanskaras, or personality traits.
Because the soul is not physical at all, it needs a tool to get attached to this world.
The Mind helps the soul to move about using the body. It works with the 5 senses - We see a flower, think about getting to the flower, send a message to the brain to go and smell the flower. The mind facilitates EXPERIENCE, which is the whole point of being in this world. We interact with the flower - know what the flower is. The 5 senses are the receivers that belong to the world. The mind keeps on thinking about how to use those 5 senses to bring
the experience to the soul. But the mind gets over-used. We experience the flower and instead of just enjoying it, we keep going. We wonder, what will happen if we tear the flower, throw the flower? We want to posses the flower because we have experienced so much good from it, we want more. (Ah, this is where addictions come into play isn't it? I asked her... Yes.)
The Intellect is the wisdom keeper. It can keep the mind in check. It can say - The flower is beautiful. Go to it, and then leave it alone. But the soul can dismiss the intellect
because the soul can be misguided by the mind. Yet if the soul is aware of the intellect -it can choose who is in control. When the soul understands that the soul is in control, the soul can allow the intellect to give input. When the mind overdoes the flower, the intellect
can step in and say- Leave it as it is, it's a beautiful flower, leave it at that. The intellect has the wisdom to say no.
The Sanskaras are the recording of what the mind and intellect have done. Go back to the flower. If you have stomped on the flower, the mind creates a recording and reflects in you something that is not so nice. Or suppose you are gentle with the flower, the sanskaras
show a reflection of a gentle, positive person. It keeps recording what you are doing in life and reflecting that back out to the world.
How do we recognize and undo the damage of the negative recordings we have created?
The soul is energy. When you send energy out - it is a message, through energy. Other people receive that energy. It can be undone, but is not always easy.
First, you create positive traits, positive habits. Meditating helps us begin. It is through meditation that you begin to recognize the differences between the positive qualities vs negative ones, and how to gravitate towards positive qualities and virtues. Then you can begin to recognize and create new personality traits so you don't have to go back and use the old ones.
What keeps you on this path, Gloria?
There IS NO OTHER path. This is the breath of life for me. I began to receive so much positive energy - it makes me happy! I am more humane, I have more energy. If a car doesn't have gas, it can't run. This gives me fuel! If I don't have this, I have no gas for the car! If you are next to the pond where you can drink water, why would you move away to the desert?? This is my fuel of life. This has helped me understand who I am, change my ways, understand what people really are.
Even health problems. This has helped me so much to create a healthy life. This meditation creates an impact on the healthy cells. They naturally reject the illnesses.
Because this is the natural way of being. Life naturally has to be good. But it is human beings that bring in the artificial ways of being which create an unhealthy life. The meditation restores all that has gone wrong. Raja Yoga Meditation. Instead of your mind running the soul - your soul runs the show.
A lot of us try this path, but we fall off. How do we get on, and stay on this path?
Well how many times do you eat/feed your body during the day? 2-3 times? Plus snacks? How often do you recharge your cell phone?
Your Soul is your battery. How can we never refuel it? Never recharge it at all? We MUST feed and recharge the soul for it to work! Meditation recharges. Every day life is so highly demanding that it drives people crazy, gives nervous breakdowns - it is draining! We must recharge.
In all the time I've known you Gloria, there is one thing that has stuck out in my mind above all the rest. You told me that I myself am a contribution...
If you yourself are fully charged, your battery is charged - then whatever you do, wherever you go, you are sharing that energy. It's like a rose - can you stop the fragrance of the rose? No - it gives. Even if you can't do any extra service or giving, if you are charged, your soul is giving off energy that flows to others. Energy has no boundaries. Wherever you go - you are giving that. It is okay to give in just that way. If one person feels good - it is good for many.
The Brahma Kumaris offer meditation classes in over 10,000 centers around the world. These are offered free, or by donation, with the philosophy that by nurturing the well-being of the entire human family through promoting spiritual understanding and leadership with integrity, it leads to elevated actions towards a better world.
To learn more about the Brahma Kumaris and Raja Yoga meditation, visit http://www.brahmakumaris.org/
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